The name of this band is.., p.45
The Name of This Band Is R.E.M.,
p.45
Legions of other writers and journalists covered R.E.M. before I did. I’m particularly grateful for the help of: Anthony DeCurtis, Rodger Lyle Brown, Tom Carson, David Handelman, Charles R. Cross, and Marc Allan.
Thanks to Andy Leach, Jennie Thomas, and everyone else at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Archives.
Jim Desmond goes back nearly all the way with R.E.M., so he was there at the time, saw much of it happen with his own eyes, and paid attention. J.D. has also been a close friend of mine for more than twenty years. His inspiration, guidance, and feedback have been crucial to this project.
Thanks also to Craig Williams for loaning me his collection of R.E.M. materials, and for always being there to draw my attention to the latest wrinkles in the online R.E.M. community.
Thanks to Kristi Colter for her early read and support.
The members of R.E.M. chose not to be interviewed for the book, but they never stood in my way and all found ways to be kind from afar. Peter Buck went out of his way to connect me with people and to confirm certain facts and events. I appreciate Bertis Downs’s patience, even from a great remove.
Thanks always to my great friend and agent Dan Conaway, his colleague Chaim Lipskar, and everyone else at Writers House.
I had a dream collaboration with my editor, Jason Kaufman, along with Lily Dondoshansky and everyone else at Doubleday.
Thanks and all my love to my kids, Abe, Teddy, and Max. And a special shout-out to Max, who became a fierce R.E.M. devotee when he was four years old and helped me hear it all again with new ears.
Wier Harman went out of his way to be supportive and share his rock magazine archives. He was an extraordinary light in Seattle’s cultural community and I’m sorry I didn’t finish this in time for him to read it. Rest in peace, friend.
Claire Dederer lived through this with me, and helped deepen my knowledge of alternative cultures, along with sharpening my thinking and writing. That’s not why I love her so much, but it doesn’t hurt. Thanks also to Donna Dederer and Larry Jay, and to Lou and Ash Barcott.
To the memory of Dr. Albert S. Carlin.
Notes
Introduction: The Things They Wouldn’t Do
Catherine Dillon, “R.E.M., One on One,” Athens Night Life, R.E.M. Special Edition, March 7–13, 1984.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Dillon, “R.E.M., One on One.”
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Anthony DeCurtis, Rocking My Life Away (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1999).
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
R.E.M. by MTV.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
1. Super Fucking Famous
Michael Stipe, interview by Rick Rubin, Broken Record (podcast), April 26, 2022.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
2. Birdland
Bill Dorman, author interview, April 14, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Dorman, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Craig Franklin, author interview, January 15, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Curtis Crowe and Melanie Herrold, author interview, May 5, 2022.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
Crowe and Herrold, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
Franklin, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 6
Christopher Bollen, “Michael Stipe,” Interview, May 2011.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 7
Michael Edson, author interview, May 3, 2022.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 8
Johnny Black, Reveal, 20.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 9
3. Bad Habits
Jim Warchol, author interview, June 26, 2022.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Warchol, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Craig Franklin, author interview, January 15, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Melanie Herrold, author interview, May 5, 2022.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
Warchol, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
Herrold, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 6
4. An Oasis for Artists and Misfits
Mark Cline, author interview, July 24, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Sam Seawright, author interview, October 26, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Armistead Wellford, author interview, November 1, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Judith McWillie, author interview, December 14, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
Scott Belville, author interview, February 25, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
Cline, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 6
Curtis Crowe, author interview, October 23, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 7
Art Rosenbaum, author interview, July 24, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 8
McWillie, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 9
McWillie, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 10
5. Dance This Mess Around
Michael Lachowski, author interview, January 20, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Vanessa Briscoe Hay, author interview, January 5, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Anthony DeCurtis, author interview, September 14, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Glenn O’Brien, review of Gang of Four/Pylon concert, Interview, September 1979, quoted in Grace Elizabeth Hale, “The Birth and Death of Pylon, America’s Best Rock Band,” Slate, July 8, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
6. Let’s Make a Band
Terry Allen, author interview, March 31, 2022.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Paul Butchart, author interview, August 18, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
7. Don’t Rock ’n’ Roll, No!
John David Pride, author interview, July 5, 2022.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Sullivan, Talk About the Passion, 8.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Brown, Party Out of Bounds, 130.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Scott Belville, author interview, February 25, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
Belville, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
Mark Cline, author interview, July 24, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 6
Steve Pond, “R.E.M. in the Real World,” Rolling Stone, December 3, 1987.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 7
8. A Party in the Church
Armistead Wellford, author interview, November 1, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Mark Cline, author interview, July 24, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Kit Swartz, author interview, November 8, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Jeff Wohl, “The Stories That Mattered,” Red & Black (Athens, GA), May 25, 1990, 4.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
Wellford, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
Wellford, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 6
Wellford, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 7
Paul Butchart, author interview, August 18, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 8
Vanessa Briscoe Hay, author interview, January 5, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 9
9. Picture James Brown Fronting the Dave Clark Five
Curtis Crowe, author interview, October 23, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Crowe, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
City of Athens police department incident report of raid on Koffee Klub, April 19, 1980.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Dennis Greenia, author interview, September 11, 2022; also other published and unpublished accounts.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
Ken Fechtner, author interview, July 22, 2022.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
William Haines, “ ‘Underdog’ R.E.M. Upstages the Brains,” Red & Black (Athens, GA), May 8, 1980.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 6
Haines, “ ‘Underdog’ R.E.M.”
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 7
Sean Bourne, author interview, February 17, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 8
Sullivan, Talk About the Passion, 11.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 9
Sullivan, Talk About the Passion, 11.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 10
10. We Weren’t Really Close in a Lot of Ways
Quotes and details from Joe Craven, author interviews, January 26–27, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Milano, Vinyl Junkies, 59–64.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Milano, Vinyl Junkies, 59–64.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Milano, Vinyl Junkies, 59–64.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
Milano, Vinyl Junkies, 62.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
Craven, interviews.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 6
Craven, interviews.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 7
Craven, interviews.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 8
Craven, interviews.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 9
“Eagle Rock Boy on the Firing Line Graphically Described Tough Fight with the Japs: ‘It’s a Real Job,’ ” Eagle Rock (CA) Sentinel, February 11, 1944.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 10
“Injured,” Eagle Rock (CA) Sentinel, October 6, 1944.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 11
“Pretty Wedding,” Eagle Rock (CA) Sentinel, March 5, 1953.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 12
Cohen and Nugent, Mickey Cohen: In My Own Words.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 13
“Gangsters’ Release in Favor Deal for Police, Captain Told,” Los Angeles Times, October 26, 1949, and other newspapers, 1949–1950.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 14
“Gangsters’ Release,” Los Angeles Times.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 15
“Pretty Wedding,” Eagle Rock (CA) Sentinel.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 16
Black, Reveal, 130.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 17
11. Hey, He Really Knows His Shit!
Peter Buck, texts to author, September 6, 2022.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Black, Reveal, 23.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Black, Reveal, 23.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Black, Reveal, 23.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
Mark Cline, author interview, July 24, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
12. A Certain Amount of Chaos
Terry Allen, author interview, March 31, 2022.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Mark Williams, author interview, October 12, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Don Braxley, author interview, August 20, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Judith McWillie, author interview, December 14, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
Robert Hilburn, “R.E.M. at the Front of the Movement,” Los Angeles Times, June 2, 1985.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
13. Sit and Try for the Big Kill
Mitch Easter, author interview, October 7, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Easter, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Jonny Hibbert, author interview, September 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
14. Lots of Impressive First-Time Songs
Sam Seawright, author interview, October 26, 2020.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Terry Allen, author interview, March 31, 2022.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Jon Young, Trouser Press, 1983 interview, published 2013.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Peter Buck, texts to author, July 5, 2022.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
Copeland, Wild Thing, 297–98.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
Fletcher, Perfect Circle.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 6
Peter Jesperson, author interview, January 6, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 7
15. Wolves Out the Door
Jon Young, “R.E.M.: Really Exciting Music,” Trouser Press, August 1983.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Peter Buck interview in Trouser Press, September 1984; quoted in Tim Peacock, “ ‘Chronic Town’: R.E.M. Bids Farewell to the Underground,” UDiscoverMusic.com, August 24, 2023.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Kurt Munkacsi, author interview, September 9, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Munkacsi, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
Munkacsi, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
Mark Williams, author interview, October 12, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 6
Jay Boberg, author interviews, September 16, 2022 and February 2, 2023.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 7
Boberg, interviews.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 8
Boberg, interviews.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 9
Brown, Party Out of Bounds, 181.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 10
Bill Healey, author interview, November 15, 2022.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 11
Fletcher, Perfect Circle, 66–67.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 12
Jonny Hibbert, author interview, September 11, 2021.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 13
Hibbert, interview.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 14
16. Chronic Town, Poster Torn
Jay Boberg, author interviews, September 16, 2022, and February 2, 2023.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Boberg, interviews.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Boberg, interview, February 2, 2023.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
